Paul and Linda McCartney, Abbey Road, spring 1978

Here’s the story. My friend Peter and I had a stopover in north London, on our way to France. (We were going to Paris in the spring.) We had a day to kill, and decided not to go into the city, but to look for interesting things, locally. So went went to Highgate Cemetary, and paid our dues to Karl Marx, whose tomb is there. We then decided to go to Abbey Road, probably to take silly pictures.  We were approaching the famous zebra crossing when we spotted a famous person – Linda McCartney! She stood out with her feather-cut blonde hair. Then an omigod moment: ‘That’s Paul McCartney.’ Some girls were talking to them and taking photos, when they turned to go into the recording studio. Oh no, I thought, so I shouted, and Paul in the moment you are seeing, said to Linda: ’Wait. There’s another one.’ I got my pic and my knees started to shake. No kidding. They had never shaken before, and they have never shaken since. What a moment. (And there’s a Volkswagen on the pavement!)

This print is a Boots enlargement, and they did a great job of it, considering it’s on the 110 cartridge format. The photograph, unfortunatlely, is now deteriorating badly. (See extra. If you are puzzled I’ve monoised the main blip.) A year or so ago I repositioned it out of any direct sunlight, but it’s made little difference. I will probably have to retire it now. I still have the original print and negatives, so all is not lost.

Next time: More Beatles in black and white..